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Getting educational priorities right

Educational reforms have been underway for 10 years. Our people, particularly the officials involved in education, should keep a level head and take an objective approach to review the overall merits and demerits of these reforms.

Because social changes take place rapidly and new needs are continuously emerging, educational reforms should not be just a matter of eliminating old policies. Education should not be politicized or become an ideological battleground. Changes to educational policies should be based on general needs and advantages as well as the interests of the country and society.

To formulate educational reform policies, the government should solicit comments from educational experts and people with practical experience in education administration. Although the members of Academia Sinica are academic achievers, education is not necessarily their specialty. It would be helpful if these academicians attended meetings and provided suggestions, but they are not necessarily the most suitable candidates to take charge of reform policies. The people who take charge of the formulation of reform policies should have practical experience in both educational theory and administration.

Those who formulated the policies of educational reform 10 years ago only saw the ailments and abuses of the system at that time and therefore prescribed a heavy dose of medicine. The lack of proper supplementary measures and thorough implementation methods led to chaos and short-comings. A group of academics and educational-reconstruction experts severely scolded the government over the chaotic state of reform and made four constructive requests.

However, just like the gentlemen who formulated the original reform policies, this group only presented stopgap measures. They only treated the symptoms of the disease but not the source of it. As a result, their suggestions will still not correct the short-comings of educational reform.

I believe the education system still follows the traditional view that "all occupations are base; only book-learning is exalted." Book-learning becomes a short cut to high rank, wealth and good jobs. No one seems to understand that the main purpose of education is to help students develop their qualities and potential, cultivate their interpersonal relations and help them understand their social responsibilities and obligations. The technical skills for making a living and ability to serve the community come second.

From kindergarten to graduate school, parents and teachers push students to excel academically over their peers. Students become climbers who edge out their competitors and develop the habit of only seeing themselves but not others. They only pay attention to their personal achievements and ignore other people's rights as well as the public interest.

One of the results of focusing on the material aspect of education is that we only pay attention to science and technology but neglect humanities, causing our society to become mechanized, rigid, materialized and formalized. Our society lacks the virtues of reasonableness, modesty, care, the courage to do what is right.

Another consequence of focusing on the material aspect of education is that we only pay attention to academic achievements and not to cultivating character. Learning can help people attain social advancement and acquire wealth, but cultivating character has no practical value.

Most of the corrupt officials and notorious legislators are college educated. They are best in digging into legal loopholes, using surrogates to pursue vote-buying and other corrupt practices, operating illegal businesses and engaging in intellectual crimes. In the industrial and commercial circles, most of the people who commit intellectual crimes, evade paying taxes and engage in smuggling have generally received higher education.

This kind of material-oriented education has made people greedy for prestige and power. Even college professors are no exception. The slogan of "having professors manage the schools" seems to be very loud, clear and quite democratic. But as all insiders know, this slogan has led to major disasters.

I once accompanied a Vatican official to visit the late minister of education Lin Ching-chiang (林清江). Lin sighed and said, "having professors manage the schools has created a foul atmosphere and greatly disturbed the quiet, peaceful campuses. Particularly when schools were holding chancellor elections, professors formed cliques to pursue selfish interests and anonymous letters filled the air."

Professors are supposed to guide students academically, promote teaching standards and bring the spirit of academic research into full play. They are not supposed to seek the positions of administrative directors, politicize the mission of education and turn schools into legislatures.

The focus on the material aspect of education has only made the rich people even richer and the poor people even poorer. Some people see education as a kind of investment. Of course, rich people have money to invest in their children's education, select the best schools and pay for tutors. Naturally, the children of rich people can get into the best schools.

Poor people have no money to invest in their children's education or pay tuition fees. Even if the children of poor people get accepted into renowned schools, how can they have good grades if they have to devote half of their time to part-time jobs?

Hopefully, academics, experts and educational directors can give up their personal bias and political ideology to objectively take the pulse of our educational system. They should find the source of disease in our system and find the correct remedies. Students will be able to happily receive a complete education only when we revive our educational system and complete the great mission of educational reforms and reconstruction.

Cardinal Paul Shan is the chairman of Fu Jen Catholic University and cardinal in Kaohsiung.

Translated by Grace Shaw
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